Three fatalities: Traffic deaths unrelated

Flowers mark the spot where Carroll Herring died on U.S. 250 in Crozet.

photo by lisa provence

Albemarle hasn't had any fatalities all year– and then within three days, three men are dead from crashes on county roads.

"All three of these are very different, with much different dynamics," says Sergeant Sean Hackney with Albemarle County Police. He's investigated over 100 fatal crashes during his career and says there are three common factors in most fatalities: speed, alcohol, and lack of seatbelts.

Gary Meeks, 59, a carpenter, was driving his 2001 truck on Scottsville Road March 27 when he went off the road around 6:20pm, hit a tree, and the Chevy he was driving burst into flames. Meeks died of blunt force trauma at the scene, say police, and he was not wearing a seatbelt.

"We don't have any indication that he was speeding, weaving, or swerving, no indication of narcotics," says Hackney. "By all accounts, he was driving along normally."

His fiancée, Joanne Peregoy, says the medical examiner said Meeks had a blood clot that caused a heart attack and made him run off the road. "I'm glad he didn't suffer," she says.

Peregoy describes Meeks as living and breathing fishing. "He always had a smile on his face," she says. "He was always happy-go-lucky."

Former Scottsville Rescue Squad volunteer Andrew Curt Lawhorne, 26, known as Curt, was on Irish Road in southern Albemarle County at 3:51pm Friday, March 29, when he had the misfortune to cross paths with Jerry Christopher Johnson, 47, of Esmont. Johnson, traveling east in his 2002 GMC Sierra pickup, was allegedly speeding when he crossed the double-yellow center line and hit Lawhorne's 2002 Chevy Malibu head-on, say police.

Lawhorne, who'd lived in Schuyler his entire life and worked at Yellow Cab, died at the scene. "Looks like he was getting off work and heading home," says Hackney.

Yellow Cab owner Mark Brown says Lawhorne was very ambitious and had just purchased his own cab from Brown. "He was really going places," says Brown. "This is unbelievable to me. That person ought to get life in prison."

Johnson was flown to UVA Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries and was charged with driving under the influence. "We're still investigating the actions of the driver prior to the crash," says Hackney. "There could be other charges."

Johnson was convicted of DWI in Charlottesville in 2011. In the Irish Road accident, neither man was wearing a seatbelt, say police.

"Everybody here loved Curt," says a Schuyler resident who declined to be identified.

Four hours after Lawhorne died, across the county in Crozet, Carroll Herring, 71, was checking his mailbox on U.S. 250 across from the Cory Farm subdivision when he was hit by one vehicle and run over by another, neither of which stopped.

Police caught up with one of the vehicles and are still searching for a white Saab with moderate front end damage.

"Some of the physical evidence we're holding close to the vest," says Hackney. "We were all over Crozet today." The Saab is a "pretty exotic" vehicle, he points out, and police are getting tips.

He did release a disturbing detail from a witness– that after Herring was hit and lying in the road, "people were swerving around him and not stopping," says Hackney. "That's alarming."

Herring, who'd worked for the Acme Visible Records in Crozet for 39 years and was currently employed with Albemarle Parks and Recreation, enjoyed gardening and watching his grandchildren play baseball, according to his obituary, which also notes that Herring was a star baseball player at Albemarle High, where he graduated in 1961.

He died within sight of Harris Teeter, the same stretch of road where 15-year-old skateboarder Yunze Sun died in 2011.

That part of Rockfish Gap Turnpike is also the scene of one of Albemarle's oldest unsolved hit-and-runs. Fifty years ago in March 1963, 19-year-old Pat Akins allegedly was struck by a speeding Triumph near the current location of Blue Ridge Builders Supply. His body turned up 12 miles away on UVA grounds under the sports car. Some were skeptical that he could have been dragged that far, and the owner of the Triumph said the car had been stolen. No charges were ever filed.

Hackney urges anyone with information on the March 26 hit-and-run to call Crimestoppers at 977-4000.

8 comments

Pathetic a-holes swerving around a old man dying in the road. Everyone that did this should get a good old fashioned butt whipping.

wondering April 3rd, 2013 | 5:46pm

for years my dad has been afraid to get the mail because his mailbox is perched on a 45mph road, much like this. no way to get the mail without standing on the road at risk. you can't reach into the mailbox without taking your eyes off the road. he finally decided to pay for a p.o. box instead so he would not risk getting hit. he drives into town for his mail but at least he is safe. does the post office take any responsibility for making sure a mailbox is protected at all?

really? April 4th, 2013 | 6:10am

Right. Who would serve around a guy laid out in the road. It's like they could have stopped to help him. But they were all just minding their own business and don't want to get involved. Sound Familiar?

Liberalace April 4th, 2013 | 10:50am

Kudos to the selfless folks who tried to remove Mr. Meeks from his burning vehicle on Route 20. As for people driving around Mr. Herring on Rt. 250, if this really occurred, those people sicken me. I'd like to believe either he was already being tended to or people did not know what it was in the road (a stretch, but could happen if it was dark).

When will people understand that seat belt thing? May Johnson rot if he were truly drunk.

R.I.P.: Robert Urich

really? April 4th, 2013 | 12:50pm

I think I have it. So if a dude is laying in the road you should help him but if a 18 yo gal knocks on your door and says she has been attacked you should ignore her. Got it. Glad I could get this cleared up before the weekend.

Liberalace April 6th, 2013 | 8:28am

@Really?...The thing that shocked me about the babe in Woolen Mills who did not solicit help for the girl there is that the woman had the time to spout off to some reporter, was only too happy to give her name, but did not have the time or inclination to simply call 911 about what at its minimum was a "female reporting she was attacked wandering around the neighborhood." Strange behavior.

Maybe the resident is just a "ditz."

R.I.P.: Hank Sperka

really? April 8th, 2013 | 6:19am

In a world of disappearing young ladies who are found dead and decomposed months later what shocked me was that a young woman not babe you inconsiderate hipster coolguy. Knocked on another womans door said she had been attacked and nobody did squat. Then folks said ohh she did nothing wrong she was just minding her business don't want to get involved with that. But if a dude is dead on the road well then hendrix proclaims that everyone who swerved by him is an a hole. Buncha cowards help your fellow man anytime you can. When you could have helped but did nothing you fail humanity and women end up dead.

really? April 8th, 2013 | 8:59am

Ever see the street video in China were the toddler crawling in the street gets hit by a truck and people just keep walking around it? Reminds me of Charlottesville. Everyone just out for themselves not even a glimmer of consideration for anyone else. SAD SAD SAD